03 / 04 · Motorcycle service
A switch that sticks, spins, or has a key snapped in it — diagnosed and repaired at the bike.
- Category
- Motorcycle
- Availability
- 24/7
- Coverage
- 10 GTA cities
- The visit
- 4 steps
On this page
Overview
A motorcycle ignition lives outdoors, takes weather all year, and is worked with a key that is usually carried loose in a pocket. When it starts sticking, turning without doing anything, or refusing a key that used to be fine, the fault is either the key or the cylinder — and which one decides whether this is a small visit or a real repair. We establish that first, at the bike, and say which before anything is taken apart.
A worn key and a worn ignition feel identical from the saddle
Both start the same way: the key needs jiggling, then a particular angle, then a particular angle on a particular day. The difference matters, because a key is a small job and a cylinder is not. A key wears at its cuts and can be re-cut to the original code; a cylinder wears at its wafers and springs, usually helped along by water sitting where it should not. The check is straightforward with the right kit in hand, and it is the first thing done — not something discovered halfway through a replacement you have already agreed to.
A snapped key is not a wrecked ignition
Keys break where they are thinnest, usually at the shoulder, and usually on a cold morning with someone leaning on them. Leave the fragment exactly where it is: turning what is left, probing at it, or flooding the cylinder with penetrating oil all drive it deeper and turn a ten-minute extraction into a replacement. Extraction tools are standard kit, the cylinder normally survives, and a fresh key can be cut to the bike's code in the same visit so you ride away rather than waiting on a part.
The visit
Step 1: Describe the symptom
Sticking, spinning freely, refusing the key, or a key snapped inside — and whether it started suddenly or crept up over months. That is most of the diagnosis before anyone drives out.
Step 2: Key or cylinder, established first
We check the key against the bike's code and the cylinder's own condition, then tell you which is failing and what each fix involves, before any part is ordered or removed.
Step 3: Repair, extraction, or replacement
A worn key is re-cut. A broken one is extracted. A cylinder past saving is replaced — and wherever the machine allows, keyed to your existing key so the seat and luggage still match.
Step 4: Tested with you before we leave
The bike started, the steering lock worked through its range, and every key you keep tried in every lock it is supposed to open.
Included
The key and the cylinder are diagnosed separately — replacing a cylinder that was only ever suffering a worn key is the most common unnecessary bill in this job
A snapped key is usually extracted with the cylinder intact, rather than the whole switch being written off
Wherever the machine allows, a replacement cylinder is keyed to your existing key so the bike stays on one key
Questions
It can be the switch behind the cylinder rather than the lock itself, and it can also be the immobiliser refusing a key it does not recognise. Those are three different faults with three different fixes. Describe exactly what the dash does when you turn the key, because that is what separates them.
Where we go
Toronto2 cities
- Toronto
- Scarborough
Peel Region2 cities
- Mississauga
- Brampton
York Region3 cities
- Vaughan
- Markham
- Richmond Hill
Durham Region3 cities
- Pickering
- Ajax
- Oshawa
More of this work
Every service category
- Emergency4 services
- Automotive7 services
- MotorcycleYou are here4 services
- Residential4 services
- Commercial4 services
Call us
The fastest way to reach us
- Nights and weekends included — any hour, any day
- A real locksmith answers and walks you through it if needed
- You hear the price before anyone drives out
Text us a photo
Send a photo of your lock and we can quote more accurately
What to include
- A close, in-focus photo of the lock or the key
- The whole door, or the make, model and year of the vehicle
- Your area, so we can confirm we reach you
We call you back to talk it through and give you a price.
Send a photoService area: 10 GTA cities across Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and Durham Region